Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks to a supporter outside of her office in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill February 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

On Sunday, "Fox & Friends" host Pete Hegseth railed against a report that Ocasio-Cortez will start staff salaries at $52,000 a year and cap salaries at $80,000 a year. The cap will allow the Congresswoman to pay interns $15 an hour, a pledge she made in December.

"Everyone's between 52 and 80," said Hegseth. "It's actually socialism and communism on display."

Hegseth's comments came on the heels of a Saturday tweet by Fox News contributor Dan Bongino, who took issue with the fact that Ocasio-Cortez’s office is funded by taxpayers. "She's NOT paying this 'living wage,' YOU are," wrote Bongino.

Ocasio-Cortez fired back on Twitter Monday morning, saying that the Republican Party’s reaction to her paying her staffers a living wage, through its mouthpiece Fox News, revealed the GOP is "disconnected from the basic idea that people should be paid enough to live."

The GOP is so disconnected from the basic idea that people should be paid enough to live that Fox actually thinks me paying a living wage in my office is “communism.”

So the next time GOP screams “socialist,” know that’s their go-to attack for any common-sense, humane policy. https://t.co/wNe6RGVKVy

The Congresswoman expanded on the idea in a longer post on Instagram, saying that her office was constrained by its allotted budget but that she wanted to ensure her staff could survive in one of the nation’s most affluent cities.

"Only people who work 80+hr weeks w/ multiple jobs without an outside life, or whose parents can supplement their pay can have the opportunity to work in the nation’s capital," wrote Ocasio-Cortez. "That has real consequences for government being out of touch w/ the people we serve on all levels."

The salary increases were generally praised on the left, though some commentators like author Jacob Bacharach pointed out that the pay, while generous, is still below what’s needed to live in the capitol. "Let's not forget that that's something like $34K take-home, or around $2,800/month in a city where average rent is $2K+," wrote Bacharach in a Twitter thread detailing the issues with the DC housing market. "DC's problem is less absurdly underpaid government workers than a deranged speculative housing market!"

If Ocasio-Cortez tries to address the latter issue, the same attacks on "socialism" will likely be leveled against her. After all, as the Congresswoman noted in her tweet, that’s their "go-to attack for any common-sense, humane policy."

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A belated, heartfelt happy birthday to Harvey Milk, assassinated in 1978 for daring to come out of the closet, be himself and insist on his rights, who would have turned 89 this week. On Harvey Milk Day, California passed a resolution honoring his "critical role in creating the modern LGBT movement." From one ally: "He imagined a righteous world inside his head and then he set about to create it." These dark days, his message resonates more than ever: "You stand up and fight."

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